Critical Thinking, Creativity and Research Produce Great Results at WISS G10 Personal Project Exhibition

Dec 16, 2021

Inquiry, action, and reflection best describes the work of WISS Grade 10 students as they spent the last few months preparing for their Personal Project Exhibitions. The exhibition offers a platform for our IB Middle Years Programme students to showcase the skills and knowledge gained as part of the programme.

Personal Projects encourage students to challenge themselves and their peers by setting goals for a personal project with the aim to make a positive impact on the world. These projects require self-reflection and research, and are designed based on a global perspective.

Personal Projects form part of the WISS education which encourage IB learners to inquire around topic of interest, to embark on individual research projects that apply the elements of the IB Learner Profiles that encourage and inspire creative and critical thinking to achieve astonishing results. The IB Middle Years Personal Project includes a process journal where each student reflects on their learning. They document and describe the phases they went through and how they arrived at their final project.

CNN and WISS celebrating Call To Earth Day

Nov 24, 2021

At WISS, 2.5-year-old children are in contact with the natural environment and build a strong relationship with it by becoming explorers, developing curiosity, and creativity.

Recently, the world celebrated #CalltoEarth Day – A global movement that emphasizes the importance of protecting our planet. At WISS, we are committed to protecting the planet and teach our students about the importance of sustainability and respecting the environment. CNN, impressed by our way of educating in sustainability and our firm commitment to outdoor learning, decided that there was no better place in Shanghai to celebrate #CalltoEarth Day than our campus with our Early Years students.

CNN joined WISS for one of our unique Forest School days. Cooking in our mud kitchen, building tents, or playing with loose parts outdoors is something that students at WISS are very familiar with.

IB Results are just a part of the picture

Oct 20, 2021

WISS offers a truly balanced and inclusive approach to the IB Programmes and invites all students to take part through our Diploma and Career-related Programmes. With 100% of our students participating in our IB Programmes, their achievements are truly impressive. With a WISS average DP score nearly 3 points above the world average and 1 in 4 WISS students scoring in the top 22% worldwide, WISS results are remarkable.

While these IB scores are worth celebrating and a superb reflection of our students’ effort, growth, and performance, they are just a small part of the picture. At WISS, students are much more than test scores.

WISS Graduates Earn Impressive University Scholarship Offers

Jul 16, 2021

Grade 12 students have completed their time at WISS with 27 different stories. All of them together, and each one in their own way, are examples of what it means to be a WISS Graduate. Some have been at WISS all their student life, others for just a year or two. But they all carry the WISS spirit to the next stage – a spirit characterized not only by academic success but also by personal development based on their agentic involvement in their education and experiences at WISS and the nurturing relationships with teachers.

Forest School: When Nature Becomes a Classroom

Jun 30, 2021

What is the first image that springs to your mind when you hear the word learning? It will probably be a classroom or a school. Most people are used to associating learning with these two things. But what if we tell you that the learning process can be more productive when it is done outside?

At The Western International School of Shanghai (WISS) we are convinced that other approaches to learning have a beneficial impact on students, support their development, and contribute to broadening their knowledge in many areas.

Our Early Years students have the chance to experience the Forest School Approach to Learning every week. An amazing, innovative initiative which not only helps students gain knowledge but is also a lot of fun. WISS is one of the few schools in Shanghai that offers this learning initiative to their pupils.

PYP Exhibition – How Grade 5 Students are Challenged to Think Globally

Jun 24, 2021

Loose parts enhance creativity and invite children to create in endless ways

Grade 5 leaves its mark on WISS students. Firstly, it is the last year of Primary, and it represents the leap towards the Middle Years Programme. It marks a before and an after in the Primary stage as students face the Primary Years Program Exhibition (PYPX), the first major public exhibition of their long and extensive inquiry learning process.

PYPX is not another short-term project, a presentation on a topic, or just a usual event. This is one of the biggest challenges for Primary students. It is an extensive research project that builds the foundational skills they will need as they enter the MYP and beyond.

PYPX is the last step of hundreds of little steps leading them to this culminating milestone event, marking the end of their time as a PYP student. It is the peak of a whole year of research, analysis, meetings, designs, and implementation of an innovative project which can be used today to solve real, existing problems.

Learning Through Loose Parts Play

May 17, 2021

When talking about Loose Parts Play, it’s important to understand that there are no rules and no right way to play with loose parts. One of the purposes of this pedagogical approach is to give your kids freedom to use their imagination.

Loose parts enhance creativity and invite children to create in endless ways. Loose parts play is different in each child’s eyes, and its function can change from one minute to another. What is a plane today can be a boat tomorrow, a tree, or even a house!

Loose Parts Play reflects each individual’s imagination, creativity, knowledge, and skills. Kids figure everything out by themselves, and the results are often surprising. Students lead the learning and the play, and they decide what and how to use the loose parts.

Aeronautics IBCP Pathway: The Sky is the Limit at WISS

Apr 7, 2021

The Aeronautics, Engineering, and Aviation Business pathway is a groundbreaking opportunity for students interested in aviation, air traffic control, aeronautical science, engineering, physics, and military and civilian aviation. Aeronautics, the newest IBCP pathway at the Western International School of Shanghai, enables students to engage in career-related learning while still in high school. WISS is exceptionally proud to be the 4th IBCP school worldwide to offer this exciting and competitive partnership with ERAU in Aeronautics.

This exciting pathway gives students an edge on the competition by allowing them to gain practical and applicable skills in a booming field that genuinely interests them. For students in the aeronautics pathway, the sky is the limit, quite literally. The lifelong and applicable skills that students gain through this pathway will enable them to work in aeronautics, with jobs ranging from pilot to flight engineer to defense industry design, amongst many exciting options.